New Haifa Subway Runs from Sea Level to Mt. Carmel in Six Minutes

October 11, 1959

TEL AVIV (Oct. 11)

Several hundred passengers were trapped in the new Haifa subway during one of its first runs today. After a 45-minute wait, while a mechanical breakdown was repaired, the Carmelite resumed its six-minute, one-mile run between the top of Mount Carmel and downtown Haifa.

Subway officials used the system’s loudspeaker to notify passengers of the breakdown, and averted panic or injuries. The subway proved to be such an attraction for children that they filled the train one afternoon, leaving no room for adults. An order was issued barring use of the subway to children unless accompanied by parents.